This presentation gives an overview of hydroponics then details materials needed for creation of a DIY Windowfarm System. I highly encourage anyone viewing this presentation to visit http://www.windowfarms.com for more info and watch Brita's TED talk about the project: http://www.ted.com/talks/britta_riley_a_garden_in_my_apartment.html

1. Windowfarms
Workshop
Greening Queens Library
Gil Lopez, Compost Assistant

2. Three Ways to Grow Plants
• Geoponic – Soil based growing
• Aeroponic – Air based system
• Hydroponic – Water based system

3. Geoponic - Biologically Based Growth
• Microbial activity in the soil act as plants gut
breaking down naturally occurring minerals to
be absorbed through roots
• Involves Soil Science

4. Aeroponic Growing
• Roots exposed to the air
• Nutrient solution mist applied to roots
• First achieved in 1986

5. Hydroponic Growing Systems
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Nutrient solution supplied to roots
Traced back to 1627
Potentially produce much higher crop yields
Can be used where arable land is not available
Several techniques include: static solution
culture, continuous-flow solution
culture, passive sub-irrigation, ebb and
flow, deep water culture, bubbleponics

6. Deep Water Culture
• Plants are floated on surface of reservoir of
dissolved nutrient solution.

7. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
• Nutrient solution re-circulated though net
cups containing substrate and plants roots

8. Bubbleponics
• Nutrient solution re-circulated to top of roots
drips back into reservoir below

9. Windowfarm System
• Nutrient solution is re-circulated to top of the
system and drips through each net cup.
Gravity feeds the roots of each plant along the
way.

10. Windowfarms Info
• Windowfarms where created by Britta Riley and
Rebecca Bray here in New York City in 2009
• There are many configurations and modifications
• This is a an open source R&D-I-Y project:
Research and Develop-It-Yourself
• Today we are building the WF Version 2.0
Standing AirLift Mini (SAM)
• Anyone can download instruction manuals for
free at Windowfarms.com

11. Windowfarm Component List
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Plants/seeds
Grow cubes
Substrate pellets
Net cup
Reused water bottles
Rigid pipe
One gallon water jug
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Air pump
Inflation needle
Teflon tape
3/8” Flexible tubing
Electrical timer
Nutrient Solution
Ph adjuster

12. Plants or Seeds
• Leafy greens grow well in hydroponic systems
• Fruiting plants also work well
• Root crops are not compatible with these
systems
• If using starts you must remove all soil from
the roots before placing them in the system
• Greening Queens Library is hosting Seed(ling)
swaps at four branches in the next few weeks!

13. Grow Cubes
• Rock wool is a common seed starting medium
• Coconut husk can also be used.

14. Substrate Pellets
• Expanded clay is the typical hydroponic
growing medium, silicate is being used as well
• Coconut coir can also be used but care must
be taken
• Any dirt will clog the system

15. Net Cups
• 3” diameter net cups fit nicely into the water
bottles used to make window farms
• Netting allows exchange of air and water with
roots

16. Up-cycled Water Bottles
• Up-cycling is using a material for a higher use
than it was used for before.
• Experiment with shape and size. R&D-I-Y
• The clear plastic must be painted or taped off
to isolate roots from light, otherwise they will
begin to photosynthesize.

17. Reservoir & Piping
• A large jug is used as a reservoir for the
nutrient solution. This needs to be refilled
regularly
• A rigid pipe is used to hold the planting bottles
up in a column
• 3/8” flexible tubing is used to bring water
from the reservoir, up the rigid pipe, to the
top of the system

18. Air Pump
• An air lift system is used to move water to the
top of the Windowfarm
• This system uses less electricity, is more quite
and is less likely to flood the plants than a
water pump
• Also requires a check valve and air line tubing

19. T-joint
• A aquarium tube t-joint will
be used to merge the water
tube with the air tube to lift
drops of water to the top of
the sytem.

20. Hands –On Portion
• We will be using a modified version of the WF
Version 2.0 Standing AirLift Mini (SAM)
instruction manual downloaded from
Windowfarms.com to build our Windowfarm
• The modification is that we are not using
athletic needles, instead we are using a t-joint
in the tubing.

21. Britta’s TEDxManhattan Talk
• After we build our Windowfarm we will watch
an 8 minute talk by the co-creator of
Windowfarms

22. The Giveaway
• Be sure to leave your name and email address
on the sign up sheet. You will receive the
Greening Queens Library e-newsletter with
garden shift opportunities, compost collection
reminders, green film series updates and more
workshops like this one.
• Signing up for the newsletter will also enter
you into the drawing as we give away the
Windowfarm we build today!